Your A B C and 1 2 3 of Political Economy By Sarjo Bayang Part 11: Not Interested in Politics

The Author

Not Interested in Politics, Be Ready for Others to Ride on your Back Free

To say you are not interested in politics gives open invitation for others taking the driving seat riding on your back. Where the journey ends, you may not have any idea or control.

Good number of intelligent persons all over society will tell you they are not interested in politics. What they are not saying while invariably endorsing is the fact of their willingness to be ruled by others no matter any capacity or commitment to deliver.

When the most capable in society refuse to take up political responsibility by call of social duty, they are paving the way for anyone without proper road licence driving them on the superhighway to nowhere. Political office is no ordinary duty post. It therefore requires people with tested quality and capability to lead the rest of us.

We pledge our trust and wholesome allegiance with every hope that public goods and services will be delivered properly in best standard quality of excellence. That is our hope and expectation. More often the performance gap gets wider when those from whom much is expected fail to deliver as required.

Name and Ways of the Political Game
Deception is what comes into mind when you consider politics without second thought. Ordinarily, politicians have shown their ability to make soul soothing cool promises even when it turns out some of that will not be fulfilled.

Genuine politicians embark on good plans with measured deliverables. They engage the public with frankness and commitment to duty. In the spirit of care and share, they go all out to ensure public goods are delivered in best service accord.

Politics is about values. Material, economic, and moral values are traded in proportion. For some people in politics, it is more about getting material and personal economic benefit failing to consider others.

Grabbing everything for personal gratification is an ugly way the game of politics is being played by people in key public positions including high office holders.

More proper way of serving in political office is by giving back to society what is due. This can be done without needing to play bias hands at the time of delivering public goods and services.

Considering the game being played through bias and full scale grabbing for personal gains, it is time we change goal posts and consider change of rules in conformity with best practice standards of moral duty.

Fact of the matter is that if you cannot drive your agenda, someone will drive and score their goal in your net.

Clean politics of playing good rules is a desire for every deserving voter and those in the driving seat have every obligation to lead by best example on the correct lane of the political superhighway.

Drivers and Passengers on the political bandwagon

Public goods and services have economic value to everyone in society. We select and elect few among us to drive the rest. Along the journey, passengers and goods get delivered at designated points of need. Moving people from A B C station to their desired destination X Y Z with 1 2 3 of value added for better livelihood is a task achievable.

Setting realistic goals within budget in simple translation means cutting your cut according to the size of your cloth. In food consumption terms, you bake enough cake and bread. When the size of cake is small there is felt need to increase production volumes.

All those jumping up to board the political bandwagon have economic expectation even when unspoken. They yearn for better living conditions and more food on the table. Fair and even distribution is expected at all delivery points. That is mostly not happening. Failed promises are blamed on lack of or shortage in resources. The truth is that those in the driving seat end up taking everything at their chosen places of interest leaving the compact majority yearning for goods never destined for them.

Communities and by extension entire population put all their eggs in one basket letting the few deliver public goods and services. Not giving communities and individuals their fair share of the national cake will over time lead to dissatisfaction beyond the management capacity of politicians.

Excess Baggage
Society is densely populated with increasing numbers in excess baggage. Some people simply prefer to be carried by others even when that is not to their best advantage.

Lacking clear vision and not having proper roadmap makes the journey too risky for majority of us. Those of us who think the load is not for us to carry will end up being loads ourselves for others to carry along.

Excess baggage loaded onboard goes with extra cost. If you cannot carry it, don’t load yourself with excess baggage. In lot of situations, the experience is gained without having to learn lessons. That is what gives rise to repeat failures.

From different perspective, excess baggage can be identified by various nature. When government or even individuals take on tasks beyond their capacity to handle, it turns into excess baggage. This can be in the form of material, money or human loading.

Here are some examples of excess baggage many of us seem not to identify or account for. Money borrowed by government or individuals without proper plan how that yields any returns, such money becomes heavy load liability. Call it excess baggage and stand right. We see this happening all the time. Everyone keeps open hands to receive any amount of money the provider is willing to render. The implication can be exceedingly troublesome.

Any time a person or government borrows money, the borrower is assuming they can employ that money to generate more returns than leaving it idle in the hands of the one lending. More often, debt servicing does not always earn expected yields. It turns into heavy load of liability. In that situation we have seen money turned excess baggage.

Material liability becoming excess baggage, examples are many. Having to purchase more than required number of cars, computers, and other machinery is common with government. Individuals also easily fall for excess baggage in material possession. The count can go on till next day. You do not need going far. Take few minutes along any of your busy roads or visit the next office within reach. What you see in excess baggage will be enough to cause alarm. Are we not all loading excess baggage knowingly or not?

Least resourcefulness makes excess baggage
Unproductive human capital account another excess baggage we see. Government budget is loaded with heaviest burden of excess baggage in payroll and material count. Some people on government payroll mark nothing of value added effect for what they are paid. This goes on over longest time span until some of the excess baggage on government payroll retire with pension roll after them.

Government has a duty to account for excess baggage in human capital not only for those on public payroll. Everyone has potential to make value adding contribution and not simply feed on resources. A good performing government ensures optimal value adding productivity by enhancing resourcefulness of human capital at all levels.

Next time you think of buying new cars, computers or hiring new hands at work, the question to ask is whether excess baggage is not increasing at so much cost with little or no returns. The job of governing is a political duty station with serious economic responsibilities needing to be fulfilled.

Not bothered about politics, you may end up with excess baggage loaded on your back; others riding at your cost. That is not sustainable and requiring you to think better. Whatever not needed is an excess to be avoided.